Environment – Page 181 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

U.S. Can Curb Carbon Emissions While Boosting Domestic Oil Production, Report Says

By Guest PostMay 31, 2011Environmentcarbon capture and storage, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon footprint, CCS, ccs projects, CO2, co2 eor, coal fired electricity plants, coal power plants, curbing emissions of carbon dioxide, domestic oil production, enhanced oil recovery, eor, ernest j moniz, industrial sources to oil field sinks, massachusetts institute of technology, MIT, natural sources, permian basin, scott w tinker, the university of texas at austin, us energy security, use of anthropogenic co2, west texas

AUSTIN, Texas — A report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and The University of Texas at Austin urges the U.S. to accelerate efforts to pursue carbon capture and storage (CCS) in combination with enhanced oil recovery (EOR), a practice that could increase domestic oil production while significantly curbing emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂).

For decades the oil industry has used CO₂ to extract oil from mature fields, often relying on purchased CO₂ from natural sources. The idea of seeking CO₂ from industrial sources, such as coal- and natural gas-fired electricity plants, has gained currency because of public concerns about carbon dioxide emissions. (more…)

With Global Warming, Arctic Access Will Diminish By Land But Improve By Sea

By Guest PostMay 31, 2011Environmentalaskan coastal town, anticipated temperature, Arctic, arctic transportation networks, baltic sea, bathurst inlet, bering strait, canada, climate change, commercial shipping, diamond road, dutton books, finland, fishing, geography, global shipping, global warming, greenland, history channel, ice road, ice road truckers, Iceland, john a agnew, laurence c smith, Netherlands, nome, north pole route, northern sea route, norway, panama canal, rotterdam, russia, scott stephenson, sea, shipping, stephenson and smith, strait of malacca, suez canal, Sweden, tibbitt contwoyto, tibbitt contwoyto winter road, tourism, type a vessels, united states, yellowknife

Global warming over the next 40 years will cut through Arctic transportation networks like a double-edged sword, limiting access in certain areas and vastly increasing it in others, a new UCLA study predicts.

“As sea ice continues to melt, accessibility by sea will increase, but the viability of an important network of roads that depend on freezing temperatures is threatened by a warming climate,” said Scott Stephenson, a UCLA graduate student in geography and the study’s lead author. (more…)

JPL-Developed Clean Energy Technology Moves Forward

By Guest PostMay 30, 2011Environmentandrew kindler, caltech, darpa, defense advanced research projects agency, department of defense, direct methanol fuel cell technology, electric vehicles, electrical energy, erik brandon, fuel cell, george olah, gerald halpert, harvey frank, hydrogen gas, jet propulsion laboratory, los angeles, methanol fuel cell products, NASA, nobel laureate, pasadena, rao surampudi, stand alone power systems, surya prakash, university of southern california, us market, water and carbon dioxide

A team of scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., in partnership with the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, developed a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell technology for future Department of Defense and commercial applications. Recently, USC and the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, which manages JPL for NASA, awarded a license to SFC Energy, Inc., the U.S. affiliate of SFC Energy AG. The non-exclusive license for the technology will facilitate the expansion of the company’s methanol fuel cell products into the U.S. market. (more…)

Significant Role of Oceans in Onset of Ancient Global Cooling

By Guest PostMay 28, 2011Environmentacc, american midwest, antarctic circumpolar current, antarctic intermediate water, benjamin cramer, benthic foraminifera, bridget wade, candace major, chengjie liu, deep sea drilling project, early cenozoic, environmental conditions, fossil skeletons, glaciations, global climate, global cooling pattern, global ocean circulation, global temperatures, greenhouse climate, icehouse, integrated ocean drilling program, isotopes, late eocene, marsupials, miriam katz, mixmaster of the ocean, ocean drilling program, ocean sediments, oceans, planktonic organisms, polar regions, sea floor, tropical jungles

*Evidence that early Antarctic Circumpolar Current development affected global climate*

Thirty-eight million years ago, tropical jungles thrived in what are now the cornfields of the American Midwest and furry marsupials wandered temperate forests in what is now the frozen Antarctic.

The temperature differences of that era, known as the late Eocene, between the equator and Antarctica were half what they are today. (more…)

Aggressive Efficiency and Electrification Needed to Cut California Emissions

By Guest PostMay 27, 2011Environmentbehavioral changes, berkeley lab, california, california energy future¬¬, carbon capture and sequestration, CCS, demand for energy, domestic cooking, electrification, energy future, Europe, greenhouse gas emissions, jeff greenblatt, jim mcmahon, max wie, nobel prizes, nuclear energy, population, renewable, renewable energy sources, scientific innovation, university of california, water heating

*Berkeley Lab joint report offers a variety of scenarios to reduce emissions to 80% below 1990 levels.*

Berkeley, CA — In the next 40 years, California’s population is expected to surge from 37 million to 55 million and the demand for energy is expected to double. Given those daunting numbers, can California really reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, as required by an executive order? Scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who co-wrote a new report on California’s energy future are optimistic that the target can be achieved, though not without bold policy and behavioral changes as well as some scientific innovation.

The report, titled “California’s Energy Future—The View to 2050,” draws a series of energy system “portraits” showing how California can meet its ambitious emissions targets using a combination of measures and energy sources that may include electrification, enhanced efficiency, nuclear energy, renewable energy sources, grid modernization, and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). (more…)

Japan Earthquake Appears to Increase Quake Risk Elsewhere in the Country

By Guest PostMay 26, 2011Environmentaftershocks, boso, coulomb stress triggering, earthquake, geological evidence, honshu island, izu islands, Japan, japan sea, jian lin, kyoto university, magnitude, mainshocks, microearthquakes, mount, nagano, normal faults, ross s stein, sanriku hokobu, sendai, stress, toda, tohoku earthquake, tohoku mainshock, tokyo area, tsunami, usgs, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution

Japan’s recent magnitude 9.0 earthquake, which triggered a devastating tsunami, relieved stress along part of the quake fault but also has contributed to the build up of stress in other areas, putting some of the country at risk for up to years of sizeable aftershocks and perhaps new main shocks, scientists say.

After studying data from Japan’s extensive seismic network, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Kyoto University and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have identified several areas at risk from the quake, Japan’s largest ever, which already has triggered a large number of aftershocks. (more…)

After Japan Nuclear Power Plant Disaster: How Much Radioactivity in the Oceans?

By Guest PostMay 21, 2011Environmentfukushima plant, Japan, marine radionuclides, nuclear power plant, radiochemical situation, radionuclides in seawater

National Science Foundation awards rapid-response grants to establish ocean radionuclide levels from Fukushima

Among the casualties of the March 11, 2011, earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan was the country’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. (more…)

Emerging Explorers Award to WHOI’s Kakani Katija

By Guest PostMay 20, 2011Environment, Nature, Sciencebiogenic ocean mixing, copepods, dian fosseys, edmund hillarys, emerging explorers, engineering diagnostic techniques, jacques cousteaus, kakani katija, motion of oceans, national geographic, ocean currents, oceanographic applications, sea creatures, swarms of tiny krill, swimming animals, terry garcia, tom kleindinst, weather patterns, whoi, winds and tides, woods hole oceanographic institution

Kakani Katija, a postdoctoral scholar at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), has been selected as one of 14 National Geographic Emerging Explorers for 2011 for her investigation into the role swimming animals might play in mixing and moving the oceans and other large bodies of water.

National Geographic’s Emerging Explorers Program recognizes and supports uniquely gifted and inspiring adventurers, scientists and storytellers making a significant contribution to world knowledge through exploration while still early in their careers. The Emerging Explorers each receive a $10,000 award to assist with research and to aid further exploration. The program is made possible in part by the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation, which has supported the program since its inception in 2004. (more…)

Category Archives: Environment